"Whatever the Americans are proud of—whatever they consider to be particularly good, useful, brilliant or characteristic of themselves or their climate, they designate, half in jest though scarcely half in earnest, as an "institution." Thus, the memory of George Washington…is an institution; the Falls of Niagara are an institution; the Plymouth Rock, on which the Pilgrim Fathers first set foot, is an institution…; "Sweet potatoes" are an institution, and Pumpkin (or Punkin) pie is an institution; …squash is an institution; Bunker Hill is an institution; and the firemen of New York are a great institution."

—Life and Liberty in America by Charles Mackay, published 1859

The terrorists who struck on Sept. 11 must have foreseen all the misery, hardship and anguish that their acts would cause—but it is unlikely that they ever thought their evil actions also would generate so many astonishing acts of heroism and virtue—courageous acts carried out most often by the men and women wearing the uniforms of police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

More than 340 New York City firefighters and paramedics lost their lives when the World Trade Center towers collapsed. A memorial to those who made the ultimate sacrifice can be found at the Fire Department of the City of New York Web site www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/fdny/html/home2.html. The Unofficial Home Page of FDNY www.nyfd.com/ provides pictures at "ground zero" of the World Trade Center disaster, as well as information on the history of fire departments in the New York City area. The site also provides a link to the Uniformed Firefighter's Association http://ufalocal94.org/widows_childrens_fund/widows_childrens_donations.html for anyone wishing to make a donation to the UFA Widows & Children's Fund.

Most people don't realize it, but there are almost 300 fire museums in the United States and Canada. The museums range in size from the one-room "museums" located in firehouse basements to large, well-funded, first-class institutions. A state-by-state directory of all the fire museums in America and an international directory of fire museums in Canada and around the world can be found at the Fire Museum Network www.firemuseumnetwork.org.

Firehouse.Com www.firehouse.com—the online edition of Firehouse Magazine—is devoted exclusively to fire services. Its primary audience is America's 1.5 million paid and volunteer firefighters. The site's broad scope reaches into the firehouse, encompassing all echelons from the fire chief on down to the first-year firefighter, from paramedics to training officers—it even includes information for the fire buff. Firehouse.Com also has extensive coverage of the 9-11 tragedy, including links to audio, video and photo resources.